Trinity, Texas - New Year's Reunion with Friends!

Riding around in the "Mule"!

We enjoyed a WONDERFUL stay with some friends we knew back in Conroe when we lived there over 6 years ago.  The Dunlaps have recently moved out to some beautiful property in Trinity, about an hour north of Conroe.  They had room on their land next to their house for us to camp our RV while we stayed there for a few days.  They even had a 50 amp hook up! It was great!  We enjoyed just catching up and playing games like Ticket to Ride (FUN game - thank you Sharon and Judy for giving it to us!).  They have two boys around our boys' ages, so they all had a BLAST playing together! They wrestled, played games, ran in the yard, built forts, played in the mud, and LOVED riding in the back of the "mule"! 

They have a horse tire swing like we had in St. Louis! FUN!

These guys have been buddies ever since they were born!

A big pile of dirt...what more could the boys want?!?!?

Troye showed Alan their plans for building a barn and a greenhouse.

Jenga fun!

We also had the opportunity to go into Conroe on Sunday to attend West Conroe Baptist Church.  This is the church we attended for 9 years before we moved to St. Louis.  I actually was baptized in this church when I joined in 1997.  Alan served as the part-time Children's Associate at WCBC before going into full-time ministry. We did get the chance to see some friends and familiar faces, but unfortunately, with it being around the holidays, some of the staff and other friends were gone so we missed visiting with them.  Hopefully we can see them next time around!  We did get to go to lunch with Suzy, the Children's Minister, and John, her husband. 

Caleb is actually asleep on Alan's shoulder.  He just couldn't make it through lunch :)

Suzy and her family have been such great examples to us.  Working with Suzy in the children's ministry at WCBC was such a blessing.  Alan and I learned so much from her.  She is an amazing woman and her faith inspires us both.  They have 3 grown sons now.  We always looked up to their parenting skills and how they did such a great job with their boys.  It was really neat to see how their family just really enjoyed being together.  They all have such a great sense of humor! We love you Tarvers:)

OK- this is a hokey pose...but we were trying to recreate our engagement photos! We had our photos taken in front of the church before we got married almost 15 years ago.  We had one of the boys take the picture for us. :)

The Dunlaps were gracious enough to host a New Year's Eve party at their house with our family and our good friends, the Inmans! Alan and I have known the Inmans for around 15 years now.  They were both in our wedding party many years ago.  We had a great time playing games, visiting and catching up, eating lots of yummy food, and sharing laughs.  Steve and Alan enjoyed putting a puzzle together, which has been a tradition for them every time our families get together for a visit.  One of their daughters, Charissa, even joined in this time!

Here is the countdown...kids ready to release their paper confetti poppers!

I thought I would play around with the photos a little and do some in black and white...

Here are all of our children together...11 in all!

Wendy, Jill, Charlene

We always have such fun when we get together.  I wish it was more often! I am so grateful for good friends we have made over the years. That is one thing I have been worried about while we are traveling on the road.  Obviously, I am the only girl in the family...even our dog is a boy! I will be with 4 boys (5 including Alan) full -time! I truly love being with my boys, but sometimes, you just need some time with your girlfriends! You know, the ones that when you are with them, you can just let your hair down, be real, share your deepest stuff and...well...then just about pee in your pants from laughing so hard! Like this...

Love you girls! Thanks for the laughs:)

Thank you Dunlaps and Inmans for a GREAT visit! Love you!

Hope your new year is off to a great start! Blessings to you and yours!

Jill and the boys:)